Leader of the NDC Dickon Mitchell speaking on the budget and expenditure for 2022 on the heartbeat program said if one carefully analyses the presentation, they will notice that about 35% of it is focused on repaying debt, which means that Grenada is in significant unsustainable debts.
The budget he said does not help as it is borrowing almost 90 million to finance debt which means the allocation for the repaying of the debt is in the region of more than three hundred million dollars.
If revenues falls short and if the expenditures mount, the possibility exist that the 90 million may increase which means according to the NDC leader Grenada is going down a rabbit hole that we may not be able to get ourselves out of.
Pointing to the structural adjustment program Mitchell said the purpose was to get the country out of unsustainable debt however years later the country is still in the same position.
The NDC leader further added that if Government must borrow then that must be injected into the productive sector areas that will effect growth so that Government revenues will increase but when you borrow to build concrete and steel that is not productive especially in the long run, that is not sustainable Mitchell said. Countries that are successful, he said, invest in their people therefore the Government needs to take a page from these country’s books.
The Government, he said, spends money on things that do not enhance the economy.
How will NDC make the change toward enhanced productivity within the productive sector? The Political leader said there must be a medium plan, set the goals in which they want, and ensure budgetary allocation reflects the goals.
Investing in the country’s human resources he said will be first and foremost, as a significant amount of contracts under the NNP are given to non nationals, which means the money does not stay in Grenada.
The NDC he said if given the opportunity will make significant changes, the people will benefit and the economy will grow.
Presently, the Government MItchell said is not making much sense and the budget is simply borrowing to sustain a debt. The NDC he said will be more transparent in its doings.
Chair of NDC youth Arm Kerryn James there needs to be more support for fishermen as over the years they have been neglected. Speaking on the main opposition party heartbeat program James highlighted that not enough is being done with regards to training and development programs.
Neila Ettienne Co HOst of the Program while boasting of the parish St. David says much more emphasis should be placed on commercializing the parish as it is the only parish in Grenada without a town hence the name “Virgin Parish”. She too shares the sentiments that developing fishing in the parish is very important.
In 2019 the parish was planned to become the second tourism hub in Grenada with the construction of two six senses hotels which is expected to open in 2022. In a recent interview with the Parliamentary representative for the parish he indicated that the opening of this hotel is expected to create more than three hundred jobs, the question is, is it enough?
The MP further stated that while St. David may not have a town or central hub the development of the tourism sector within the parish is paramount, therefore this is a step in the right direction.
